Switching Hosting Providers – Transferring Your Website

Has your hosting provider been slowly increasing the cost of hosting and domain names over the years? Do you feel like it would be a hassle to switch to a more affordable hosting provider so you continue to use your current provider regardless of the increasing costs?

It’s easier than you think to switch. Let us show you the steps involved in transferring your website from one host to another*.

Step 1: Backing Up Your Old Site

You will need to backup all of your files, email forwarders, and databases in preparation for the transfer. To do this you will need to login to your current hosting provider and make a full backup.

Under the ‘cPanel’ tab at the top of site:

• Select ‘Site Backup & Restore’ from current provider.
• Select ‘Full cPanel Backup’ under the ‘Backup’ tab.
• Select ‘Daily System Backup’ as this is usually the most up to date backup available.
• Select ‘Start Archiving’ to archive the backup.
• Now you will need to download the backup.
• Choose “download’ and save the file to your computer.

Step 2: Finding Your New Provider

Find a suitable hosting provider to switch to. Keep in mind the new provider should have a lot of the features you already take advantage of (reliable customer service, reputable, and have a 99.9% uptime, etc.). If you are in need of recommendations, read our hosting reviews here. Once you have selected your new hosting provider you should choose the package that is right for your needs. You can usually save money by choosing to go with a longer term contract (1, 2, 3 years). Once you have registered for the new account you will need to login to the account so you can upload your current site.

Step 3: Restoring Files to New Site

Next step is to restore the backup to new site.

Under the ‘cPanel’ tab at the top of site:

• Select ‘Site Backup & Restore’ from new provider.
• Select ‘Restore a Backup’ under the ‘Restore’ tab.
• You will now be asked to locate the file you backed up in Step 1.
• You should now have the files, email forwarders, and databases from your old site on your new site.

Step 4: Changing DNS Name Servers

At this point you’ve backed up the old files to the new site and your almost done. So the next step is to change the DNS Name Servers to the new site. The DNS Name Servers will direct a visitor, when they type your website name into a browser, to the server with your current files at the new hosting provider. If you neglect to update the DNS Name Servers your visitors will get an error message once your old hosting account expires.

You will need to note the new name servers and record them into the old site. Do this by logging into your new hosting provider account.

Note the Old Name Servers

Under the ‘Domain Manager’ tab at the top of new site:

• Select your domain from the checkbox.
• Select the tab ‘Name Servers’ from the right-hand box.
• Make a note of the name servers.
• Next you will login to the old hosting provider.

Entering the Name Servers into the New Account

Under the ‘Domain Manager’ tab at the top of new site:

• Select your domain from the checkbox.
• Select the tab ‘Name Servers’ from the right-hand box.
• Enter the Name Server information into the ‘Custom Name Server’ fields.
  Enter the information exactly as it appears from the old hosting provider avoiding the number string.
• Select ‘Save Nameserver Settings’.

You are done! You can transfer your domain name(s) over the new hosting provider as they expire.

Contact UsNeed help with your website?

*This article assumes your hosting provider is using cPanel. Contact us if you are unsure of how to proceed in transferring your website.